Sebastopol’s Royal Mail Hotel finally opens | The Courier

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Shane Vance was one of the very last people to enjoy a beer at Sebastopol’s Royal Mail Hotel when it shut down a few years back. On Saturday, he got to enjoy the first beer poured when it reopened, after lining up for about half an hour before the doors were finally thrown open. He said it was a “pretty special” moment – he’s still mates with the crew who made the Royal Mail their friendly local, and they’re all keen to join him as soon as they can. READ MORE: Sebastopol’s Royal Mail opening good for hospitality in Ballarat “This pub meant a lot to me when it was open, it’s a big family,” he said. “Everyone who used to drink here, we still communicate and talk with each other, we’re all good friends, and we’ve been fairly anxious about what it’s going to be like, but it’s good to be back. “To have the last beer and sort of mourn before the pub shut, and then for me to be here today and have the first one, it’s pretty special.” Co-owner John Rattley said there was “anticipation, anxiety, apprehension, everything” the night before the pub finally reopened. “It was evident to us right from the very start that this hotel means so much to the local community,” he said. “I grew up in country South Australia, a small town, about 1000 people, everybody knew everybody, and it was just such a great atmosphere when you walked into the hub of the community, which was the hotel – it’s exactly what this place feels like, even though it’s in a bigger regional city, it feels like a small country town hotel.” READ MORE: Sebastopol’s Royal Mail Hotel to reopen with old favourite chefs returning While somewhat muted because of coronavirus restrictions, there were still plenty of eager locals checking the place out early Saturday morning. “Nancy and I were reflecting this morning, if it wasn’t for these COVID times, we would have been absolutely slaughtered today, there would have been 350 or 400 people walking around and live music, that was our intention to have a grand opening, but in hindsight, it’s probably a good thing,” Mr Rattley added – the soft opening gave the team some time to get the last details just right, like finding chalk for the eight-ball table. While most of the updates are cosmetic – a new coat of paint, some new carpet – Mr Rattley said there were big plans for the summer. “There were three things people would say to us when they saw us milling around in here – the first was ‘thank you for reopening’, the second thing was ‘are you going to keep the salad and veggie bar’, and the third was ‘you’re not going to change the hotel too much?’ – they didn’t want to see what had happened with some other hotels in town which go completely upmarket,” he explained. “There’s a few little touches (in the front bar), like the wagon wheel lights, to put our stamp on it without changing too much, but out the back, we do plan to change it a bit. “There’s two distinctive areas are far enough apart to be different, they won’t interfere with each other – the regulars who have grown to know and love this bar and its atmosphere over a long period of time will be able to come back and it’ll still be here – the new area will have a different atmosphere, and live music.” Book early to secure a table. Have you signed up to The Courier’s variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that’s happening in Ballarat.

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Shane Vance was one of the very last people to enjoy a beer at Sebastopol’s Royal Mail Hotel when it shut down a few years back.

On Saturday, he got to enjoy the first beer poured when it reopened, after lining up for about half an hour before the doors were finally thrown open.

He said it was a “pretty special” moment – he’s still mates with the crew who made the Royal Mail their friendly local, and they’re all keen to join him as soon as they can.

“This pub meant a lot to me when it was open, it’s a big family,” he said.

“Everyone who used to drink here, we still communicate and talk with each other, we’re all good friends, and we’ve been fairly anxious about what it’s going to be like, but it’s good to be back.

“To have the last beer and sort of mourn before the pub shut, and then for me to be here today and have the first one, it’s pretty special.”

Cheers: Mick Mills, Tracey Philp, Sandra Parry and Shane Vance finally sit down at the Royal Mail Hotel. Picture: Lachlan Bence

Co-owner John Rattley said there was “anticipation, anxiety, apprehension, everything” the night before the pub finally reopened.

“It was evident to us right from the very start that this hotel means so much to the local community,” he said.

“I grew up in country South Australia, a small town, about 1000 people, everybody knew everybody, and it was just such a great atmosphere when you walked into the hub of the community, which was the hotel – it’s exactly what this place feels like, even though it’s in a bigger regional city, it feels like a small country town hotel.”

While somewhat muted because of coronavirus restrictions, there were still plenty of eager locals checking the place out early Saturday morning.

“Nancy and I were reflecting this morning, if it wasn’t for these COVID times, we would have been absolutely slaughtered today, there would have been 350 or 400 people walking around and live music, that was our intention to have a grand opening, but in hindsight, it’s probably a good thing,” Mr Rattley added – the soft opening gave the team some time to get the last details just right, like finding chalk for the eight-ball table.

While most of the updates are cosmetic – a new coat of paint, some new carpet – Mr Rattley said there were big plans for the summer.

“There were three things people would say to us when they saw us milling around in here – the first was ‘thank you for reopening’, the second thing was ‘are you going to keep the salad and veggie bar’, and the third was ‘you’re not going to change the hotel too much?’ – they didn’t want to see what had happened with some other hotels in town which go completely upmarket,” he explained.

“There’s a few little touches (in the front bar), like the wagon wheel lights, to put our stamp on it without changing too much, but out the back, we do plan to change it a bit.

“There’s two distinctive areas are far enough apart to be different, they won’t interfere with each other – the regulars who have grown to know and love this bar and its atmosphere over a long period of time will be able to come back and it’ll still be here – the new area will have a different atmosphere, and live music.”

Book early to secure a table.

Have you signed up to The Courier’s variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that’s happening in Ballarat.